4SS: 21 Empathy Pains
by Ta1u1a
Summary: 21 of 22 in the 4th Sister Series, alternate season 4. A demon uses the sisters' empathic connection to debilitate them, leaving their friends and family to figure out how to save them.


Empathy Pains  
>Twenty-first episode in the Fourth Sister Series<p>

A/N: For Xena fans, the person I picture playing the demon in this episode is the same actress that played Calisto. I can't remember her name off-hand, but I pictured her the entire time I was writing this. I think she'd be perfect.

* * *

><p>Price followed Piper through the grocery store carrying a jumbo box of cheddar flavored Goldfish crackers. Ever since their experience with the dream demon, Price had been teasing Piper about the Goldfish cracker man, the one aspect of their dreams that they couldn't figure out. Phoebe had shrugged it off as unimportant, Price found it funny and Piper was baffled at what it meant.<p>

"The Goldfish is power, Piper!" she said with a huge grin on her face. Piper stopped the cart and spun around.

"Price, I swear to god, if you crack one more Goldfish joke…"

"All right, all right," Price said, setting the box on a random shelf. She walked to the side of the cart and tickled Melinda in her car seat. "Mommy's a cranky pants today."

Piper sighed and grabbed a box of cereal off the shelf. "Sorry, I've been leaving the connection with Phoebe open. It's a little draining. I don't know what to do."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've opened the connection a couple times. The sorrow and guilt…it's rough," Price agreed.

"I just don't know how to talk to her," Piper said. She tossed the cereal in the cart and continued pushing it down the isle with Price walking alongside her. "It's never been like this before. Phoebe and I could always go to each other. Now she's distancing herself. She's living alone in that apartment, and she's always working. I'm worried. I really am."

"I might have a guess about why she's not coming to you," Price said. "I mean, look at your life. You might think it's not exactly normal. But you're married, you've got a daughter, you've got a successful business and you're leading the best life you could possibly get as a witch. Now look at Phoebe. Her husband—her soul mate—is dead. With him goes any prospect of children. Her future is looking pretty bleak in her eyes. She probably thinks you can't sympathize."

"But she could talk to you," Piper said, still shocked that her life could actually be Phoebe's vision of happiness. She had always wanted a normal life, not realizing that she was slowly getting what she wanted She stopped and tossed another item into the basket. "You don't have all that."

"Gee, thanks," Price said with a smirk. She started pushing the cart down the aisle and Piper followed.

"You know what I mean. I'm not saying you'll never have that stuff, but you currently don't," Piper said. "I mean, your relationship with Puck is still on shaky ground. And journalism is a risky career. You could be out of a job tomorrow."

"Okay, have you thought that maybe this is why Phoebe isn't coming to you anymore?" Price said with a raised eyebrow. "My sense of security just dropped about five notches."

"Okay, my point is, you could be her confidante," Piper said.

"I don't know. Phoebe and I haven't really bonded," Price said. "I don't think she quite has that level of trust with me."

"I just don't want my life to interfere with my relationships with my sisters. It needs to all work together," Piper said. "That movie night we had wasn't enough. We need to spend some genuine quality time together."

Price gave Piper's shoulder a squeeze. "We'll figure something out. Supernatural demons aren't the only demons that we fight."

* * *

><p>Phoebe walked up the stairs to her apartment while casually flipping through her mail. A few Current Residents, a couple bills and a catalog. Nothing special. She walked into her living room and stared at the space. It was pretty plain. She hadn't taken any time to decorate it. She almost didn't want to decorate it. She didn't want it to be too much like home. Part of her still missed living in the Manor. Even when she moved to New York, she always felt the Manor was home. Now that she knew about her heritage and the history of the Manor, she figured it was the fact that the house was built on a spiritual nexus that made her so drawn to it.<p>

But some part of her also missed her family, always having them there to turn to with problems in a moment's notice, always there to annoy her and get in the way. She missed every part of that life. She just didn't know how to tell Piper she wanted to move back in. The house was built for a family—mother, father, daughter, future children. How could she go back and intrude on this life that Piper had worked so hard to get? She couldn't.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was struck from behind. She fell to the floor, her mail spreading across the carpet. She rolled on her side, one hand to her head as she looked to see her attacker. She appeared to be a woman, but her experiences told her appearances could be deceiving. She started to get up, but the attacker held her hand out and suddenly she couldn't move. She was frozen, staring up at her. Then she felt a burning feeling, starting at her feet and moving upward through her body. She cried out in pain as the sensation became excruciating.

The woman smiled and knelt next to her. "You know, I think it would be best if we moved to someplace…less public. Don't you think that's a good idea?"

Phoebe couldn't respond. The pain was too intense. She wanted to respond. She wanted to stall long enough so her sisters could feel her pain and come help her. But they didn't show up. No Leo. No sisters. They must've been blocking the connection.

"Oh, don't you worry about that," the woman said, seemingly knowing what she was thinking. "Your sisters will know everything you feel in a short while. I can promise you that."

* * *

><p>At the grocery store, Price and Piper were loading the last two bags of groceries into the back of the car. Melinda cooed from her car seat, waiting patiently for the ride home. Suddenly, Piper cried out. Her knees buckled and she clutched her head, dropping the bag of groceries she was about to put in the car. Price knelt beside her sister on the pavement. She saw a couple a few spaces down, staring in concern. She tried to reassure them.<p>

"It's okay. It's okay," she said, raising a hand to wave them off. "She gets…migraines. Don't worry about it."

The couple turned away and headed into the store, and Price turned her attention back to Piper.

"What's wrong?" Price asked. "Is it Phoebe?" She would check the connection herself, but when she saw the pain Piper was feeling, she was too scared to subject herself to it.

"Yes," Piper said. Her face contorted with pain. "Oh god, it's burning."

"Block it out, Piper. Block the connection. We have to go help her," Price said, trying to help Piper to her feet. But Piper couldn't move, she was in too much pain. She shook her head.

"I can't. I can't block it."

"Of course you can. You've done it before," Price said, confused.

Piper continued shaking her head. "I'm trying. It's not working. Something is keeping the connection open." She grabbed Price's arm tight and looked her in the eyes. "We have to get to Phoebe."

"Okay, we will," Price said. She literally threw the rest of the groceries in the back of the car with her power, and then she helped Piper into the front seat. Then she sped away to Phoebe's apartment, hoping that's where they would find her.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Phoebe's apartment building and Piper had relaxed somewhat. She wasn't crying out in pain anymore. She was just sitting in the passenger seat with her eyes closed, breathing deeply.<p>

Price parked the car and looked over at Piper. "Are you okay?"

"I think she's unconscious," Piper said. "I can't feel her pain anymore."

"You don't think…" Price began.

"I hope not," Piper replied. She opened the door and took a few shaky steps.

"I'll get Melinda," Price said. "Go see if Phoebe's in the apartment."

When Price joined Piper at Phoebe's door she saw the open door, the mail strewn across the floor. But no Phoebe.

"Phoebe," Piper said. "Oh god."

"Leo can find her, Piper," Price said. She walked past Piper into the apartment and began calling. "Leo! Leo!"

He orbed in moments later. Melinda cooed and reached for her father, so he took her from Price.

"What? What's going on?"

"Phoebe's in trouble," Price said. Leo looked to Piper and finally saw the ashen appearance of her face.

"I can't block the empathic connection," she said, her voice trembling. "I felt her pain. It was excruciating."

"But you don't feel it now?" Leo asked. Piper shook her head and stepped into the apartment.

"No. I think she's unconscious," she replied. "Can you find her?"

Leo closed his eyes, but reopened them moments later. "Something's blocking me."

"Then we have to try scrying," Price said. She and Piper each touched one of Leo's arms and he orbed them to the Manor so they could continue to find their missing sister.

* * *

><p>Phoebe awoke on a hard stone surface. When she looked around she realized where she was. It was the mausoleum where Cole used to hide out. The Turner mausoleum. Her hands and legs were bound in chains and the chains were attached to hooks in the wall.<p>

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" the woman asked, appearing from around a corner. "I've made a few small changes. You might not notice them. They're not exactly visible changes."

"Who are you?"

"That's not important," she said. "In a short while you won't care who I am. All you'll want is for me to kill you."

"What do you want from me?" she asked, staring up at her fearfully while she wasted energy on trying to remove the chains.

"I want your guilt," she replied. She crouched in front of her, just out of her reach. "I want your fear, your anguish, your deep sorrow and your physical pain. I want it all. And your sisters' too. See, it seems that little empathic connection of yours gives me the rare opportunity of acquiring all those things from three witches while using only the energy it takes to torture one. It must be my birthday. Of course, I don't have the slightest idea when my birthday is. I've been alive for centuries."

"You're still like all other demons. You run off at the mouth and give me time to think of an escape," Phoebe said.

"Oh there's no escape," she said. She stood and gestured toward the open space of the mausoleum. "This place…I've modified it. It blocks all magic out save my own. Your spells, your potions, your powers…all useless. There is no escape." She suddenly morphed into Belthazor and towered over her. "Now, shall we begin?"

* * *

><p>Piper was pacing in the attic while Price scried for Phoebe. But it wasn't working. The crystal wouldn't settle anywhere on the map. They had tried the most extensive maps they had. Leo just told them that Phoebe was probably somewhere where their magic couldn't reach, like the Underworld. That definitely didn't illicit much comfort.<p>

Piper would let out small groans of pain every once in a while, massaging her temples in an effort to ease the pain she was feeling through the connection. Price was worried that Piper's inability to block Phoebe's pain and emotions would debilitate the oldest Halliwell too much to fight whatever demon had taken Phoebe.

"I think we should call Tara and Leena," she suggested. "They might be able to help us."

"How?" Piper asked. Her tone was tense.

"The connection is taking a lot out of you Piper," Leo said. "What if whatever is doing things to Phoebe decides to do more serious things to her? The Power of Three could be down to the Power of One."

"Or the Power of Zero," Price said. The other two looked confused. "Something is keeping you from blocking the connection. That something could find a way to do the same thing to me. We need to get everyone involved in this before it's too late."

"This is insane. There's gotta be a way to find Phoebe," Piper said. Suddenly she screamed and fell to the floor, crying out in pain. Leo and Price were immediately by her side, but there was nothing they could do to help Piper. All they could do was watch as whoever tortured Phoebe sent that pain over to Piper.

When Piper finally stopped screaming, Price immediately went to get the phone. They needed all the help they could get.

* * *

><p>Phoebe was bleeding from several cuts and breathing heavily. The woman had cut her, burned her, beat her, shocked her, strangled her…just about everything you could think of to torture someone. She glared at her when she approached her again.<p>

"You know, I'm getting a little bored. You and Piper just aren't enough. Time to let Price join in on the fun, don't you think?"

"We will stop you," she said in a low tone. "My sisters will find me and we'll vanquish you."

"Confident are you? We'll see how confident you are when I incapacitate both your sisters," she said. She moved over to the tomb and poured some kind of powder into a bowl. She lit a match and dropped it in. It flashed and a plume of red smoke wafted up into the air.

"We've beaten worse odds than this," Phoebe said. "We defeated Belthazor. You're nothing compared to him."

"Really? I doubt that," she said. "I mean, after all, Belthazor is the reason you weren't around to call Leo faster in order to save Prue, isn't he?" Phoebe broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. The woman laughed and knelt in front of her. "If you hadn't gone to the Underworld to break evil's hold on Belthazor's human half, your beloved Prue would be alive."

Phoebe fumed for a moment and then looked back up at her. "Yeah, well Piper would've died instead. So, there's really not much of a trade-off."

"Ah, that's where your logic is flawed," she said. She stood and pulled a pouch from her pocket. She tossed it back and forth between her hands while she spoke. "You see, if you had never gone to the Underworld, you would've been there to help your two sisters—well, I guess I should say one and a half sisters—find a better way to undo the fiasco that Prue and Piper caused by chasing a demon out into the street and trying to vanquish him in broad daylight."

Phoebe looked away again. These were all thoughts she had fought to rationalize, her own mistakes that she had tried to justify. This woman was making more sense to her than she would ever let on.

"Also, even if you hadn't been able to find a way to fix that mess, Leo at least would have been there, instead of in the Underworld, to save his pretty little wife from dying from a gunshot wound to the chest," she continued. "Did Leo ever tell you what it looked like to see Piper dead and covered with blood on that hospital table? Blue lips. Blood pooled on her bare stomach. Did he tell you what Prue looked like? Her make up smeared, her hands and face covered with Piper's blood. Did he ever tell you any of this?"

"Stop it," she pleaded as tears fell from her eyes. She shook her head, trying to dispel all her feelings of guilt. She couldn't let her win. "Please."

"Oh, now you beg," she said, smiling. She stood and stepped back a little. "I cut you, beat you and burn you and all you do is scream. But when I force you to listen to the honest and undeniable truth, you beg for me to stop. Humans are all alike. Crippled by emotions even when they can handle physical pain. That's why you'll lose, Phoebe. Your emotions will destroy you and the rest of the Warren line. Good will end right here with your tears."

"You're wrong," she said, her voice trembling.

"Deny it all you want, Phoebe, but you're the reason that Prue's dead, and you will be the reason that evil wins out," she said. "You are weak. Blinded by your emotions and driven by impulses. You feel too much, and you are the beginning of the end." The woman poured the contents of the pouch she had been juggling into her hand and blew it away so that the powder drifted down on top of Phoebe, who was now sobbing. "Now, I think it's about time that Price got to join this party."

* * *

><p>Price had called in the cavalry. Darryl, Puck, Leena, Tara and Victor were gathered in the living room. Piper was sitting next to Leo on the sofa. She was leaning against her knees with her head in her hands. She was feeling intense guilt, more intense than any guilt she had felt from Phoebe since they made the empathic connection. She felt horrible. It almost made her cry, but she did her best to hold back her tears. She had to focus on helping to find Phoebe. And she was afraid if everyone could see exactly how much it was hurting, they wouldn't be able to focus.<p>

"All right, so four witches, a whitelighter and three mortals," Puck said, surveying the room. "Aside from a possible bar joke, what does this group make?"

"Hopefully a solution to our problem," Leo said. "As Price explained, we're going to need all the help we can get to find Phoebe."

"I still don't understand how we can help," Darryl said, gesturing to himself, Puck and Victor.

"Darryl, Puck, you guys have connections. Darryl, we'd like you to file a missing person report for Phoebe. Put out an APB or whatever. Just get the word out that she's missing," Piper said.

"Missing persons are supposed to be after 48 hours," Darryl said. "I don't know how I'll be able to explain this one."

"There's suspicious circumstances," Puck said. "You can send a couple of uniforms over to her apartment to do the routine. That'll help. After all, you said that the door was wide open and her mail was on the floor, right Price?"

"Yeah," Price agreed. "Puck, whatever resources you have, please use them. I really don't know what kind of things you can do through the FBI, but I'm hoping it'll help."

"And what can I do?" Victor asked, wanting to do whatever possible to help get his daughter back safe and sound.

"We'll need you to take care of me," Piper said. She was feeling another wave of guilt from Phoebe, but tried her best to withstand it. She clamped her eyes shut and grit her teeth as the guilt changed to pure pain.

"Piper?" Victor asked. He stood, starting to go to her, but she raised her hand and exhaled.

"It's okay, dad," she began. "For now anyway. Whoever is doing this is making sure I feel everything Phoebe feels. It's getting more intense and I don't know how much longer I'll be of any use. It could incapacitate me, and in case of that, somebody will need to stay with me."

"And possibly me," Price said. "Just because I don't feel Phoebe's pain, it doesn't mean I won't. Whoever's doing this may find a way to force me to feel it just like he's forcing Piper."

"That's where we come in, right?" Tara asked. "We're the back up witches?"

"I don't know if I work well under that kind of pressure," Leena said, half-joking.

"I'll be here to help you," Leo said. "The first thing that needs to be done is break whatever magic is keeping us from locating Phoebe."

"Wouldn't finding out who is behind this help with that?" Leena asked.

"Maybe," Price said. "Piper and I will work on that as long as we can. You guys work on an alternative way to find Phoebe."

Price stood and was about to retrieve the Book of Shadows when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She and Piper screamed at the same time. Piper clutched her stomach and leaned forward on the couch. Price fell to her knees on the floor, also clutching her stomach. Leo and Victor went to Piper while Puck knelt next to Price.

"Oh God, Phoebe," Price said through her pain. Puck put his arm around her, trying in vain to comfort her. He didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he hated seeing her like this.

After several minutes, the two of them stopped screaming and started to recover. Puck helped Price up off the floor. He looked to everyone else.

"I think that's a sign that we should hurry."

* * *

><p>Phoebe buried her head in her hands, determined not to listen or look at the torture the demon was trying to inflict upon her. Right now a person who appeared to be Cole was standing over her. He was in a tuxedo with a scorch mark on his chest. He was looking down upon her. She tried to make herself believe that it wasn't him.<p>

"If I had never met you Phoebe, I would still be alive," he said. "I'm dead because of you. You and your magic killed me."

"You'd be evil," she said through tears.

"I'd be alive," he said. Phoebe looked up at him, glaring.

"The Cole I loved would rather be a dead human than a live demon," she said through gritted teeth. "Try again."

Cole morphed back into the demon and she smiled at Phoebe. "I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve." Then she morphed into two forms—Price and Piper. Except they looked like they were in extreme pain and battered and bruised.

"This is happening to us because of you," Piper said weakly. "More people are going to die because of you."

Phoebe looked away and went back to holding her head in her hands.

"All the people you love are going to die, and it's all your fault," Price said. "When she's done with us, she'll go and kill dad and Darryl and Puck. They'll all die because of you."

"You were all alone in that apartment, not relying on family," Piper continued. "Betraying your family out of your stubborn personality. Now we're suffering. And we'll die. Because of you."

Phoebe just shook her head. "No, you won't win. It's a lie. None of it's true."

Piper and Price disappeared and the demon returned. Phoebe looked up when she heard a baby squeal. The demon was holding Melinda. At least, it appeared to be Melinda. She was instantly more on edge. But she held back.

"It's another trick. She's not real," Phoebe said.

"Are you sure?" the demon asked. she waved one hand over Melinda tauntingly. "How do you know she's not real?"

"Piper would never let you take Melinda," Phoebe said.

"Piper's really not in any condition to be protecting her child right now. Neither is Price for that matter. And Leo…I could snap him like a twig," the demon said. "All I had to do was flash in there. They barely even knew what happened."

"No! You're lying!" Phoebe shouted. But she wasn't sure she believed herself anymore. She didn't know what was real.

"Oh, what's that I feel? Doubt? You're right to doubt yourself Phoebe. For once in your life you're actually thinking about a situation instead of reacting," the demon said. "Smart move. Because I'm not lying."

She held one hand over Melinda's head and the baby cried and screamed as if in pain. Then she burst into flames in the demon's arms. Phoebe could only watch helplessly. Finally Melinda disappeared and all that was left of her was a puff of smoke. The demon dusted her hands off.

"There goes the family's future," the demon said. Phoebe curled up on the mausoleum floor in tears. The demon turned and walked away. "Because we all know you won't contribute to it."

* * *

><p>Piper was leaning on the kitchen island while stirring a potion on the stove. She was sniffing back tears and Leo noticed.<p>

"Honey, what is it?" he asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Piper shook her head and wiped her tears away. She and Leo both looked over at Price, who was also fighting the tears while she looked through the Book of Shadows. Leo nodded his head.

"Phoebe."

"I never could have imagined that Phoebe would have this much inner turmoil to work with," Piper said. Price looked up from the Book. "All this guilt and doubt and fear. It's not like the demon is pulling it out of nowhere. He's gotta be working with what's already there. It's like Barbas. Demon's don't make this stuff up."

"Barbas?" Price asked.

"Demon of Fear," Leo answered.

"How could I know so little about my sister?" Piper asked. Leo wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Phoebe has been distancing herself from all of us," Leo said. "It's not that you haven't tried."

"Isn't it?" Piper asked. "When was the last time I called her or actually went over to her apartment unannounced? I've been sitting back, content in my life while she's all alone in that apartment with all this guilt and self-doubt."

"Piper, it's not our fault," Price said. "It's been a rough time for everyone. It's hard to know what to do."

"Right now you need to focus on finding Phoebe, and you can work out the personal stuff later," Leo said. "It's hard to focus, I know. You've got more emotions running through your head than you know what to do with. You have to fight it."

Piper sniffed back more tears and brushed her hair out of her face. "You're right. I know. It's just getting so difficult."

Without warning both Piper and Price cried out in pain. Victor, Leena and Tara rushed in from the dining room. Leo held Piper and eased her down as her knees buckled. Price was gripping the table and gritting her teeth through the pain. Finally both of them passed out. Victor rushed over as Price began to fall out of her chair to the floor. He gasped when he saw blisters on her arms.

"Leo, Price is burnt," he said. Leo nodded his head. Piper was as well. He tried to heal the burns, but nothing happened.

"The demon is causing Phoebe's injuries to manifest themselves on Piper and Price," Leo said. He picked Piper up in his arms, ready to take her upstairs to their bedroom. "I can't heal these injuries."

"Why not?" Leena asked.

"Because they're Phoebe's injuries. I would have to heal Phoebe," he explained. Victor picked up Price and everyone headed upstairs.

Tara was afraid to say what everybody was thinking. "So that means if this demon kills Phoebe, Piper and Price will die too."

Leo could only nod his head, fearful that he would lose his family in one night.

* * *

><p>Leo, Leena, Tara, Darryl and Puck were gathered outside Piper and Leo's bedroom, discussing the results of their work. So far they didn't have much. During the discussion Tara was still combing through a book for anything that could help.<p>

"Police searches have turned up nothing," Darryl said. "We tried to track any movement from Phoebe's apartment. But none of her neighbors saw anything."

"There really wasn't much to do with my sources," Puck said. "It's not like I work the X-Files or something."

"Tara and I haven't turned up much," Leena said. But apparently she spoke too soon when Tara exclaimed, "Shee!"

The others looked confused and finally Darryl spoke up, "Uh…gesundheit?"

"No, that wasn't a sneeze," she replied. She held up the book she was looking in to show them a picture of a blonde woman in dark clothing. "It's a demon. Her name is Shee."

"Like a banshee?" Leena asked.

"Well, she feeds off pain and suffering like banshee do, but she doesn't look like them and she doesn't have the same effect on witches," Tara explained. "She doesn't do the screaming thing either."

"So, all she does is feed off pain and suffering?" Darryl asked. "What about us not being able to find Phoebe?"

"She must have used some kind of spell or potion," Leo said. "Something that blocks out magic."

"Then how do we find Phoebe?" Puck asked.

"I have a theory on that," Tara said, looking at the book again. "It would help make Phoebe suffer more if she was tortured someplace that means something to her. Someplace that she has an emotional connection with."

"Okay, so places Phoebe's connected to," Leena said. "That shouldn't be too hard. Should it?"

"It's definitely not the Manor, which is the one place she has the biggest connection with," Leo said. "The only other place I could think of is P3."

"Piper."

The five of them looked over when they heard Victor's voice and the door open. Piper staggered out and supported herself against the wall. Victor was standing behind her and Price was sitting on the bed. Neither of the sisters were in very good shape. They both still had burns on their arms and now had cuts on their foreheads and finger-shaped bruises on their necks. Leo stepped forward to help Piper, but she held up her hand and began speaking weakly.

"The mausoleum," she said.

"Mausoleum?" Leena asked, looking to the others for explanation.

"Turner…mausoleum," Piper continued. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself long enough to get out what she wanted to say. "Cole used to…he was always there. It was like home to him."

"That would make the most sense," Tara said. "The place her true love called home would definitely be a good place to torture her." The others shot her a glance and she stumbled a little. "W-well it would."

"Now it's just a matter of getting in," Leena said. "The problem is that there are numerous ways to block magic out and they all have different ways to break through. It could take us hours, even days to get through them."

Leo looked over at Piper, who was breathing heavily and struggling to stay standing. He looked over at Price to see her resting her head in her hands.

"We don't have that kind of time," he said. "We need to get Phoebe now."

"These magic blocking fields," Darryl began. "They only block magic people out, right?"

"Uh, usually yeah," Leena replied. "There's generally no need to resort to magic in order to keep a mortal out."

Puck and Darryl looked at each other, getting the same idea at the same time. "So Darryl and I can get through when you guys can't," Puck said. Price and Piper both looked up when they heard this idea.

"What are you suggesting?" Leo asked.

"Darryl and I could go in and distract the demon, and then Victor can go in and get Phoebe out," Puck said. "It could work."

"No," Price and Piper said at the same time. Now Price was standing in the doorway with Victor holding her steady.

"We're your only shot," Darryl said. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch my friends die when there's something I can do about it."

"We've come too far Price. I'm not going to lose you now," Puck said.

"But what if I lose you?" she asked. "It's too dangerous. You can't…" She paused and cringed as a wave of pain shot through her body. "You can't fight a demon. You'll be killed."

"So it's either you three or us?" Victor asked, joining in with Darryl and Puck's argument. "I would die a thousand deaths by a thousand demons before I lose my daughters. I already lost Prue and Patty. It's not happening again."

"Okay," Piper said. "Okay. You three may be our only shot. But you're not going in there unprepared. Tara is there a potion or something to vanquish Shee?"

"Uh, no, I don't see one," she said. "But Leena and I might be able to come up with something."

"Well, while you two are working on a vanquishing potion, there's some potions I can make to help them protect themselves. There's one that would duplicate my exploding power and some others that will hold off a demon," Piper said.

"Honey, you're in no condition to…" Leo began, but Piper held her hand up to interrupt.

"I'll be sitting at the kitchen table while I tell you what to put in it," she said. Everybody just stared at each other in silence for a moment. Now that they had all agreed on a plan, the guys were a little nervous about it. "Well, we're wasting time here people. Let's get moving."

Victor helped Price while Leo helped Piper and everyone headed back downstairs to get their plan of attack in the works.

* * *

><p>Shee walked past Phoebe, holding an atheme in her left hand while testing the sharpness of the blade with her right thumb. She looked down at Phoebe and giggled.<p>

"I would love to see what your sisters look like right now," she said. Phoebe just glared up at her. The pain had overcome her body. She couldn't distinguish one pain from another anymore. It was all the same big pain.

"I suppose they would look a lot like you. See, for the past hour or so, Pheebs—do ya mind if I call ya Pheebs? Anyway, for the past hour or so, I've been making your injuries manifest on your sisters." She crouched down in front of Phoebe and placed the tip of the blade under Phoebe's chin. "Do you know what that means? It means when I cut you…" She dragged the edge of the blade up the center of Phoebe's chin, creating a thin line of blood. "…I cut them. It's not just pain anymore, Pheebs. It's injury. So if I stabbed you in the heart…" She placed the tip of the blade gently on Phoebe's chest and held the atheme as if she were going to push it in. "…I would stab them in the heart. Isn't that such a neat trick? I mean, seriously. I'm a hit at all the parties with that one!"

She jumped up suddenly and walked across the mausoleum away from Phoebe. She spun around and looked to the trembling witch, waiting for some sort of response.

"Why don't you just get on with it then?" Phoebe asked, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, now why would you say a nasty little thing like that?" Shee asked. "I mean, do you really want your sisters to die?"

"I'd rather them be dead than have them suffer through this anymore."

"Oh, you're so noble! Excuse me while I alert the peace prize committee," Shee taunted. Then she paused. "But I am getting a little bored with you. I think I've sucked just about all the pain and anguish that I can get out of you and your pretty little sisters. The real rush comes with the death. And I'm telling you it's gonna be a rush this time. Three at one time! And not to mention the fact that you're the Charmed Ones. This is gonna be good."

"Hey!"

Both of them looked over when they heard the shout. Darryl and Puck were standing at the bottom of the mausoleum steps.

"Oh look it's your cop buddies. Darryl and the ever so sprightly Puck," Shee said. "Looks like they really are good detectives. They found me. And they'll be rewarded with death."

"I don't think so," Puck said. He tossed a small bottle at She's feet and it exploded, blinding her momentarily. Then her rushed her and tackled her away from Phoebe. Darryl went to help. Moments later Victor entered the room and hurried over to Phoebe.

"Dad? What's going on?" she asked weakly.

"We're getting you out of here, sweetheart," he said as he started to undo the chains. "That's what's going on."

They both looked up as they heard a scream and Puck went flying across the mausoleum, crashing into the wall and falling unconscious to the floor. Darryl was still struggling with Shee. He managed to kick her back away from him and then pulled his gun.

"Silly mortal. That toy won't hurt me," Shee said with a laugh. Darryl fired two shots, hitting her directly in the chest. She staggered a little and then looked up at him, laughing. But her laughs faded as smoke started to come up from her skin. "What's happening to me?"

Darryl offered her a smug grin. "Us silly mortals have some tricks of our own," he said as flames started to appear on her body. She tried to pat them out, but they kept coming as she burnt from the inside out. "Potion-coated bullets. Guaranteed killers." She finally completely burst into flames and disappeared screaming, leaving only a puff of smoke behind.

Darryl holstered his gun and went over to help Puck, who was starting to come around. Victor picked up Phoebe and the four of them hurried out of the mausoleum. Leo and the others were waiting outside. Piper and Price were sitting on the ground, leaning against a tombstone for support.

"Set her down, Victor," Leo said. Victor did as he was told and Leo began to heal Phoebe. It took quite a while, but all of her wounds healed. And the others were able to watch as the same occurred for Piper and Price. The three sisters, weary but no longer in pain, slowly stood. Everyone just stood there for a moment in silence. Finally Price spoke up.

"So, looks like we really owe you guys," she said to Darryl, Puck and Victor.

"Nah," Darryl said. "It's nothing you three haven't done a couple dozen times for us."

"Although, I think I'll leave it to you from now on," Puck said, rubbing his neck. He looked to Price. "How the hell do you do it?"

She smiled and put her arm around him. "A little magic and lots of hot baths."

Everyone chuckled at that and headed out of the cemetery, one more demon vanquished.

* * *

><p>Price and Piper sat in Price's bedroom chatting when Phoebe knocked on the door. She smiled nervously. "Care if I join this party?"<p>

"More the merrier," Piper said, patting the bed beside her. Phoebe sat down next to her older sister. Piper shot her a small smirk. "So…what's new?"

Phoebe chuckled and shook her head. "I should have come to you guys a long time ago. If I had…"

"Don't play that game. We can't talk about 'should have' or 'what if' here. What's important is why it happened," Piper said. "The stuff we felt…that's what we need to talk about."

"I don't know where to start," Phoebe said.

"How about the boat load of guilt?" Price suggested. "Where was all that coming from?"

"I guess it came from the same place it has always come from," she said. "The same place it came from when I became good again and found out about Prue. I don't know if it will ever go away. But lately it has always been on my mind more. Since Cole…"

"None of that was your fault," Piper said, taking Phoebe's hand. "Prue and Cole…it happens. A lot to us, I know, but it does happen. Hazards of the job."

"When we became witches it was exciting and at first I thought it was fun, but after everything we've been through, it's hard to know why we put up with this anymore."

"Because it's who we are," Price said. "I guess I can't really say much on this because I've had my powers my whole life, but it's still who we are."

"Phoebe, when we first got our powers back, I was the last one to want it," Piper said. "I was ready to give it back like it was a Christmas present I didn't like. But you taught me what it really means to be a witch. You helped me to see all the good it could do. You helped Prue realize it too. You always embraced it. And even with all the pain and the loss we've experienced, there is a balance. We do good nearly every day. The loss may hurt like hell, but it's not our fault. It's evil, and it's our job to stop evil, to prevent more loss, more pain."

"I just don't know how to do it anymore," Phoebe said.

"We do it. We do it together," Piper said. "Part of being sisters, being a coven is that we do this together." She sighed. "Which brings us to question number two."

"Why didn't you come to us?" Price asked.

"I guess…I was afraid to. I didn't want to ruin what you guys had," she said.

"Ruin what we had?" Piper asked, knowing all too well that Phoebe was about to describe what Price had said was the truth.

"Everything has been going well for you lately Piper," she explained. "The Manor is meant for a family. I mean, your family. I couldn't bring myself to come back and ask you to let me move back in."

"Phoebe, you are my family. You and Price and Leo and Melinda. Dad. Darryl. Hell, maybe even Puck one day if he and Price really do hit it off," Piper said. Phoebe and Price chuckled. "I don't care if there are twenty people living in this house, nothing and I mean nothing should come between us."

"I know, you're right. I should have come, no matter what. I was just afraid to," Phoebe said. "But I still can't ask to move back in the Manor."

"Actually, I have an idea that might fix all our problems," Price said. The other two were curious. "I think we all agree that it's not really a good idea for any of us to be living alone. So…I think I should move into the apartment with Phoebe."

"What?" Piper asked. "Now everybody's moving out?"

"It's not that we just want to run away or anything," Price said. "And believe me I was grateful when you let me move in here right off the bat, as if we had been family all our lives. But Phoebe's right. This house is meant for your family. It's almost like destiny for you and Leo to raise your family here. This house needs kids running through it. Not your twin sisters. I mean, can you imagine us all trying to cram into this house? Maybe this is just me and my former only child syndrome, but talk about crowded!"

Piper couldn't help laughing at that. "You guys make valid points, and I agree. We can't all live in this house together. We would probably drive each other insane. I remember what our childhood was like, Pheebs, and we didn't even have demons crashing in all the time."

"No, just Prue's boyfriends," Phoebe joked. That got them all laughing for a while.

"But I have a condition," Piper said, once the laughter had died down. The other two listened intently. "No matter what…I don't care if a demon is involved or not…if there is ever a problem, you can't be afraid to come to me. Invited, uninvited, announced or unannounced, the Manor is open to both of you 24/7. Just because we're not living together, it doesn't mean we should separate our lives."

"Agreed," Price said. Phoebe nodded her head. Price smiled. "So, who wants to help me pack?" Piper shoved her away and Phoebe jumped up off the bed laughing. The two of them left Price's room together. "Hey! Come on. What happened to all that 'we do this together' stuff?"

* * *

><p>Tara sat at her dorm room window watching the rain pummel everything outside. The wind was blowing violently. The weatherman had predicted a storm. She had been surprised when he was right. The storm reminded her of the last tornado she had seen back home. It had demolished many homes in her town, but had missed her own. Her brother, father and she had locked themselves in a closet in the basement. She had been amazingly calm.<p>

This storm didn't affect her either. Storms never did. She felt relaxed and content in this one. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, but she didn't even flinch. She looked down at the street and saw someone standing on the sidewalk—no umbrella, no hood. Just a long back robe. He was an older man, but something looked odd about his face. She couldn't tell what it was about his face that was different in the dark, but something definitely wasn't right. She shivered suddenly as she was almost sure she had made eye contact with him. She immediately closed the curtains.

The disconcerting feeling she got from looking at that man didn't leave her when she stepped away from the window and tried to read an assignment for her literature course. She stood and went to the window again and looked out. He was still standing there staring up at her window. They made eye contact again and then he started walking to the entrance to the dorm. Tara gasped and immediately went to her phone. As he had passed a street lamp she caught a glimpse of his aura. It was more than black, something she didn't think was possible. The aura screamed at her, louder than the auras had during the attack at Phoebe's wedding. The man she had seen was the purest of all evils. She immediately dialed the Halliwells' number. But she didn't reach anyone. She tried Price's cell phone, hoping there would be a signal. She got through, but the hello she heard was very distorted by static.

"Price, it's Tara," she said frantically.

"Tar…wha…it?" Price asked through the static.

"Price, there's a demon coming into my dorm right now. I saw him and he saw me," she explained. "His aura…it was the darkest most evil aura I've ever seen."

"Tara, I can bar…hear…"

"Price? Price?"

The connection failed and Tara slammed the phone back down. She looked around, panicked. Suddenly the lights went out in the dorm. Tara immediately lit a couple candles on her desk. She started thinking, trying to think of what to do. She heard some explosions down the hall and some shouts of surprise. A girl screamed somewhere down the hall, and Tara's panic heightened. Lightning flashed and thunder shook the building. Then she remembered it—Leena's protection spell. Tara knew it wasn't a permanent solution, but it would buy her some time.

"Magical lock, fall in place. Keep all evil from this space."

She saw the field raise up all along the walls of her room and over the door. Moments later there was an explosion and the door shattered. The man was standing there. He slammed his fist against the field over the door.

"Do you think this will stop me witch?" he bellowed. Tara backed up against the wall and then looked out her window. She contemplated jumping, but she was three stories up. Her legs would break. It would only delay the inevitable. The man slammed his fist against the field again. She looked at his face and saw extremely pale skin. The left side of his face was disfigured and he was completely bald. There was some kind of marking in the center of his forehead. "I will see you suffer for your interference!"

A thought suddenly hit her. She just hoped it worked. "Leo! Leo!" Nothing happened. "Please, I'm in big trouble. Leo!"

The blue lights appeared and she smiled slightly. He appeared completely, holding Melinda, just as the field started to collapse.

"Leo, get us out of here, fast!" she said, grabbing his arm. He looked over his shoulder, saw an energy ball forming in the intruder's hand and quickly orbed out. The energy ball slammed into the wall behind where Tara had been standing and left a scorch mark.

"No!" he bellowed angrily. He flamed out of the hallway and the lights in the dorm came back on. Several students came out of their rooms and looked down the hall, wondering what had just happened.

At the Manor Piper was sitting in bed reading by candlelight when she saw the familiar blue orbs. But she was surprised when she saw Tara riding along with her husband and daughter.

"What's going on?" she asked, setting her book to the side.

"Tara was just attacked by the Source," Leo said, releasing a gasp of surprise he hadn't had time to release in the dorm.

"That was the Source?" Tara asked. Leo nodded his head.

"My God, are you okay?" Piper asked, getting up from her bed.

"Yeah, he didn't get to me. I'm just really freaked out right now," she replied.

"Price!" Piper called. A few moments later Price came through the doorway. She was surprised to see Tara there.

"Tara? You called, but the storm interfered. What's going on?"

"The Source was at her dorm," Piper said. Price's eyes widened in surprise. Piper turned to Leo. "Why would the Source attack Tara?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe he sees her as a threat of some kind."

"But how could I be that much of a threat? I mean, I'm nowhere near as powerful as you guys are. Why would he waste his time with me?"

"Maybe that's not it," Price said. "You're not a threat. But you're an obstacle."

"Did the Source say anything?" Piper asked.

"He said that he would see me suffer for my interference," Tara replied.

"Interference?" Price asked. "How have you interfered?"

"She got that mass vanquishing spell," Leo said.

"And she saved us from the vampires when we first met. We might not have gotten home in time that night before reinforcements came for Melinda," Piper said. "She's inadvertently screwed up the Source's plans twice now. He's probably a little pissed."

"Should I be here?" Tara asked. "Can he find me here?"

"Maybe, but he might not take the chance yet," Price said. "You were vulnerable in your dorm, but here you've got a bit more protection."

"Should I get Phoebe?" Leo asked.

Piper and Price looked at each other. "I was hoping we would have more time before facing the Source," Piper said.

"Well, she's been working hard on finding a way to defeat him. Let's hope Phoebe's come up with a good plan of attack," Price said. "Leo, could you go get her? Our phones aren't working."

Leo handed Melinda over to Piper and orbed out. Lightning lit up the room and thunder blasted through the house. Melinda woke up and began crying loudly. Piper sighed.

"I know sweetie. I don't like storms either."

* * *

><p>She had been watching the Manor on Prescott Street. The time was nearing. Hope wasn't sure if she was ready for it. She had been waiting for this moment almost her entire life and now she was unsure if she should be here. Was it really right for her to interfere? Was she crossing the line and breaking too many rules?<p>

But all her doubts dissipated when, through the storm, she saw the Source flame in on the Halliwells' porch. Whether she was meant to be here or not, she couldn't turn back now. She got out of her car, drew her sword and headed toward her destiny.

* * *

><p>Piper had managed to get Melinda asleep and in bed. She was headed downstairs to join Price, Phoebe, Tara and Leo when she heard a loud noise, like crackling electricity. She knew that it was the forcefield that they had erected around the house, the same field that Price had erected around the house on Phoebe's wedding day. Piper rushed down the stairs.<p>

She jumped down the last three stairs at the same time that the others came out from the dining room and the same time that the front door exploded and the Source slowly made his way through the field. He immediately shot an energy ball at the group, forcing them all to dive in different directions. Piper threw her hands up. The Source exploded momentarily but then immediately pieced himself back together.

"You will all die, soon enough," he said angrily. He pointed to Tara. "But first, you."

"Leo get Tara out of here!" Price shouted.

Leo was about to go to Tara when the Source flamed from his current position and reappeared behind Tara.

"No!"

Everyone looked up at the voice. Hope was standing in the doorway, her sword at the ready. The Source looked confused but didn't let this distract him long. He reached for Tara and she tried to duck away. Hope took the opportunity and expertly hurled her sword at the Source. It flipped through the air, headed straight for him. But he quickly grabbed Tara's arm and flamed out of the Manor with her. The sword stuck deep into the wall behind where the Source had been.

"Oh God, Tara," Phoebe said, still in shock by everything that had just happened.

"Leo, please check on Melinda," Piper said, still trying to process that they had actually failed to protect Tara from the Source.

"Melinda's fine," Hope said, her voice filled with disappointment. She walked further into the house to her sword. She yanked it out of the wall and turned to face the sisters and Leo.

"How do you know she's fine?" Leo asked.

"Well, for one thing if she was hurt, you would know it," she told him. "And also, if she was dead, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Who are you? We know Hope isn't your real name," Price said. "What is your real name?"

She lowered her head, knowing if there was any hope of saving Tara and stopping the Source, they had to know the whole truth. "My name is Melinda. I'm from 21 years in the future."

THE END


End file.
